Search form

Macrovision warns of piracy threat to billion pound games industry

Macrovision issued a warning to the £1.6 billion UK computer games industry as it gathers together for London Games Week (25 – 31 August). “Pirate copying could simply wipe out profits for this innovative and significant UK industry” summarised Martin Brooker, Director of Sales at Macrovision.
The UK is a major force in the worldwide computer games industry, recognised globally for the innovation and imaginative concepts produced here, but the fast growing group of technically aware home-gamers illicitly copying and distributing pirate copies of games is also growing fast.

The Interactive Digital Software Association in the US estimated that piracy accounted for over US$3.2 billion of lost revenue to the gaming industry last year alone. The report highlighted the growing threat from casual copying using CD-recordable drives and unauthorized Internet downloads.

“We need all sectors of the industry to challenge the pirates aggressively. Consumers need to recognise that digital protection of games is a legitimate right of the content owner,” continued Martin Brooker.

Macrovision cites the high profile, problems of the music industry as a salutary example. The music industry is now addressing the problems head-on but has a massive battle on its hands to regain control of licenced material. The challenge for the computer games industry is to grasp the nettle now and implement protection systems that will not only cope with the current CD and DVD based distribution methods, but also look to a future where internet distribution and online gaming is the norm.

Macrovision is the worldwide leading provider of copy protection for PC and Mac, CD and DVD- ROMS. It will launch the latest version of its SafeDisc® copy protection system at the upcoming London Games Week (25 – 31 August).

Macrovision also provides the most effective technology for securing pre-release evaluation copies of games and software, using the “try and die” feature set from its SafeCast® system. For video copy protection, Macrovision designed the only widely deployed technology that inhibits DVD-to-DVD-R, DVR and PC hard-drive recording from standalone DVD players.